The Family Afterward

‘The Family Afterward’ amalgamates four immediate family members detailing their personal experiences as a result of the youngest child’s troubled past with substance abuse. Most often, the family is affected the hardest, by ways of neglect, physical, mental and emotional abuse and deprivation. Their stories often go untold. This four-channel audio piece with video spotlights their stories, revealing that one is not alone in the suffocating pain and misery undergone in these dark periods, and we are allowed to talk about it.

b. 1988, Detroit, Michigan
Resides in Chicago, Illinois
EDUCATION
2013 BFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Rafi Hillel Jacobs has been exploring the underbelly of his personal history since finding his creative voice. A greater emphasis has been placed on how these experiences reshape the familial relationships both individually and cohesively. The utilization of the artist’s immediate family members is an intricate part of the work’s legitimacy while additionally probing the realms of class and religion, questioning the status quo and initiating a constructive dialogue.